#or that they're not operating under the same level of specificity that i prefer

[metanarrates]

What do you think about how most people summarize orv's themes as love. I saw one of your reblogs about how it's too simplified for other works?

my general opinion is that saying "x is about love" is usually too damn vague as an analysis. while love is not a universal emotion (shoutout to loveless aros,) it's a common enough human experience that I really think that you need to specify what ABOUT love is being explored. is this a work about the depths of love? is it about the transformative potential of love? there are a thousand different ways love can manifest, and about a billion different ways a story can offer insight on the nature of love. I think it doesn't do justice to a story if you're not specifying what exactly it has to say about love.

all that out of the way, yes. many of orv's major themes are about love. specifically, it relates the love a reader has for a story to the love that a person can have for another human being. a story, like a person, can contain depths unknown to both author and reader - it is impossible to ever reach a complete understanding. there is always some element that will be impossible to communicate. something left hidden behind a wall.

but you can love that story, that person, anyway. you can offer your own interpretations, and try to understand as best you can. and the love and effort you put in matters deeply. the way that you can affect other human beings, specifically, matters deeply. even if it seems like your efforts will never reach that person, even if they are justifiably hurt by your efforts, even if your interpretations are wrong, even if you are the sole reader of a story. it matters that you were there and tried to love it as best you could.

orv also has a lot to say about love, self-sacrifice, and salvation. kim dokja's love of the story and his companions is a major motivator to why he destroys himself over and over. it's paralleled to his own mother, who sacrificed herself for his sake, and who he resented all his life and yet can't stop making the same choice when it comes to the safety of others. that sort of love and salvation hurts as much as it saves. it's as selfish as it is selfless. it's the same choice his companions make in order to get him back. they love him. they would be able to live with his resentment and guilt if it meant he would survive.

kim dokja's love for yoo joonghyuk, specifically, is both selfish and selfless. it is his love for yoo joonghyuk that was (unintentionally) responsible for much of yoo joonghyuk's suffering. the choices kim dokja makes out of love are what mitigate yoo joonghyuk's suffering, and eventually are what allows him to free himself from his eternal cycle. again, it is the love a reader has for a story, and the way that a reader both craves conflict and craves for the characters they love to overcome it.

it is the same love that drives yoo joonghyuk and han sooyoung to repeat the cycle again, as a choice this time. selfishly and selflessly. han sooyoung damns the world to apocalypse because she wished to save kim dokja's life. yoo joonghyuk chooses both regressions and his time in space to grasp at the chance to keep kim dokja alive. neither of their choices is guaranteed to save him. they know that. love alone isn't enough to save someone. but they make this choice because they love him, knowing that he would hate the choice. they create the story together because they want their sole reader to be understood by it.

and that's the end theme of orv's meditations on love and the nature of stories. if you love a story enough that it saves you... well, perhaps it's possible that the story, too, loves you back.

none of this is easy to describe in a sentence. I agree that it's probably easier to just say "orv is about love?" but I wish more people identified it further beyond that, since that usually is where the discussion just stops. I find orv's discussions on love to be some of the most compelling presentations on the topic that I've ever seen in fiction, and I like discussing it! i want to treat it with the complexity that it deserves.

#narrates #orv #see even with THIS long post I don't think I've captured everything orv has to say about love #it's a gigantic fucking novel and has SO MANY THEMES #also imo. when people say 'x is about love' it does often come at a cost of dismissing other themes in a work #in addition to either simplifying or straight up misrepresenting the work's actual depiction of love #which is why I tend not to enjoy it as a type of analysis. at least when it's expressed without much complexity or nuance #however i will say that I have seen some good posts on orv's handling of love lmao. i don't mean to say they aren't out there #or that they're not operating under the same level of specificity that i prefer #just that I personally want to always keep the conversation specific and complex whenever I get asked about it!

[sabrinahawthorne]

JUMP! Devlog, February 2, 2024

Combat - tactics versus drama

I'm not trying to make a tactical combat game. If you want anime games who focus on the moment-to-moment of a fight, there are better options out there for you. I personally recommend DAWN: The RPG, if that's your preference. But I digress.

I'm really happy with the core Bidding mechanic in the JUMP prototype. After a playtest, it proved to work exactly how I'd hoped. The feedback I got was a resounding: more please. So this month, I set about expanding combat.

To keep a long story short, I tried a couple of different things, and they didn't work. I ended up just building a second, different combat that sat on top of the first and didn't interact with it at all. More than that, the design went directly against my design goals. It was tactical, and approaching a level of crunch that I wasn't really happy with.

I eventually found the solution while rereading Aver Alder's Monsterhearts 2: Conditions and GM Moves.

My mistake was trying to tie every piece of the fiction into some discreet mechanical state or interaction, instead of providing a robust imaginative space paired with concrete, narrative goals. Conditions are great for this. I can attach them to some simple mechanical consequence, but their focus is solidly in the story. You don't clear a condition by meeting a numbers threshold, or performing the right bonus action - you build a narrative moment.

GM Moves are also great for this - In giving the GM a toolkit that operates primarily in the fiction, as opposed to their own set of stats and rules clarifications, they enter the role of a director. They can focus more and more on what a fight means for the story - playing to find out what happens, as they say.

Truth be told, I struggle with narrative game design. I like a harmonic system - a clockwork. It feels very easy to me to take the numbers and boxes of a system and build my own fiction around them. Giving the written fiction the same weight as the clockwork is something I'm still working on. Which makes working on JUMP! exciting! It forces me to open up to new avenues of my own design, and to bring in color that I wouldn't otherwise be inclined to be.

2. Playbooks - How Moves Make the Fiction

Give everyone their own Power Up Move. Duh.

I spent a lot of time this month trying to make character features universal. Again, clockwork. But again, the Apocalypse Engine saved me - I got to thinking about Sex Moves, and what purpose they serve (in this case, in the context of Monsterhearts). They're so character specific - they forward the tropes, the imaginative space the table is here to engage in. So I've been leaning in. It's all chicken scratch in a notebook right now, but I have a lot of ideas for how to rework the Playbooks. They're going to end up with a lot more individual toys than they have now. For now, I'll say that I have the words "Hedonistic Hero" written under the Powerhouse Playbook.

Work continues, I dinner to make. Check out JUMP!, and keep an eye out for more logs and milestones!

#indie ttrpg #ttrpg #jump! shonen battle roleplay #devlog

[crystalelemental]

I remember reading about you saying something about the lack of IVs and EVs in Nexomon but now I can't find the post;;

Would you say it's a bad or a good thing?

That's correct! Nexomon does not have EVs or IVs or natures. Essentially, two of the same species of Nexomon at the same level have the same stats and access to the same moves. They are functionally identical. Whether that's good or bad depends on your stance on things. I'll go over it bit by bit under the cut:

In Pokemon, if you pick your Bulbasaur starter, you have to immediately contend with both a nature and the set IVs in each stat. Depending on what's rolled, your Bulbasaur may perform better or worse throughout the run. Those starting factors can have an impact on how it operates. Having this variance means no two playthroughs are exactly the same, because your stats are going to change how well certain options will work.

By contrast, if you pick Petril in Nexomon 1, it is the same every time. You know exactly what you picked, and every playthrough you use it, it will perform the same. There's no variance. This could be seen as kinda limiting to replayability, depending on your stance on its importance. It also means there's no reason not to just trade out something you have for a later catch at a higher level if it's the same species. Which can make it less about cherishing your specific monsters, in a way.

But on the other hand, depending on the Pokemon, variance is a huge problem. Bulbasaur can kinda get away with deciding between Adamant or Modest, you know what I mean? Hell, it can operate with Bold or Impish, or even Timid or Jolly. Flatlined stats worked in its favor. But something like Abra? Roll an Adamant and experience something that's just objectively worse for no reason. IVs are similar. Very little in the games really necessitates 31s in each stat, but rolling 0s? I had a Platinum run with a Piplup that had 0 in both offenses and speed. It was constantly outsped, and couldn't OHKO a Geodude two levels below it at the start of the game with Bubble.

While you never strictly need to concern yourself with the factors involved in Pokemon, I personally argue that most of them exist to be more of a burden than a boon, especially as new generations introduce more and more min-maxing of base stats. IVs only hinder when they roll too low. Natures effectively have four beneficial options, and at least eight that are devastating. Statistically, things are more likely to go badly for the player than positively.

I think there's something to be said for standardization. You don't even have to consider things beyond catching what you want to catch. It does mean that there's no way to power up weaker options that way...at least in the first game. Extinction has cores, which can be used to increase stats, and those are pretty flexible to use with whoever. They're percentage-based, so it's kind of a "rich get richer" situation like Z-moves were, but I didn't encounter much in Extinction that felt like...unusable, you know? That's a whole other post, but your moveset is just what you learn naturally, and as a result, type matchup is wildly more significant, and every tool operates well if you're using it where it can function. In comparison to Pokemon, where movepool bloat through TMs and egg moves have resulted in it being borderline impossible to work a type resistance in your favor.

Anyway, the short answer is I prefer it. It makes the game a lot more streamlined for me. But I'm also a lunatic who resets for Pokeon natures I want regardless of the game's difficulty.

#nexomon #nexomon extinction

[mod2amaryllis]

This might be a bit out of nowhere but any advice or where to begin on becoming a vet tech? I currently have a job as a kennel assistant and I've decided I want to pursue vet work as a career but don't know where to start

that's exactly where i'd recommend you start, at a kennel! build confidence working with animals in a way lower-stakes environment (dogs are usually relaxed and happy at daycare/kennel, compared to the stress of being at the vet). unless you're already at a clinic? ok i'm gonna operate under the assumption that you're at a daycare/kennel.

all the following advice is usa specific. depending on where you live, you might need to get registered by taking the VTNE standardized test. i have an associate's degree in veterinary technology but never passed the test and am therefore not registered. in my area it hasn't been an issue because registration isn't required. nobody really cares as long as you can do the work, and i'm a shit test-taker yet a BALLER tech (also the test costs hundreds of dollars to retake). but again, i do have a degree, completed a full vet tech course, and my only option in the whole state was a private tech university which was waaaaaaaaay more expensive than it should be. like $40,000 student debt in a job that's infamously low paying. if i could do it again, i would NOT go to THAT school, because the other huge thing is: the clinical experience is where i learned 90% of what i needed to excel. if you have a more affordable schooling option like a community college or a university with scholarship options etc, do it!! but be wary of private schools, they're entirely profit driven.

if you're a kennel tech now and want to take the next step, then apply to be a kennel tech AT a vet clinic. kennel techs are usually there for janitorial duties and an extra set of hands for stuff like easy restraint. there's a big ol national veterinary staff shortage, you shouldn't have any trouble finding a clinic that's hiring. EVERYBODY hiring right now. bringing someone on as a kennel tech then eventually transitioning to vet tech/assistant is often the preferred way to hire from a training perspective, because starting with easier responsibilities and focusing on getting along with the rest of the team is less pressure than hiring a brand new TECH tech and loading them up with all the craziness right away.

now as far as the like....emotional side of things, i think i've already spoken extensively on how hard it gets. the first five years of fulltime teching was a roller coaster where the lows were a very very deep level of hell. now it's been 7 years going on 8, i'm part time, i'm the best at what i do, i've stayed with the same clinic and my pay is closer to what i deserve (it'll never ever be high enough lol), so i've finally reached a point of peace with this job. just be prepared for it to get worse before it gets better. one bit of advice from a trainer's perspective: when i'm hiring/training someone, the value that is way higher than your tech skills is how well you get along with the team. are you inquisitive and willing to learn? do you explicitly ask questions when you're not sure about something? are you respectful of doctors? do you keep a level head in a crisis? are you humble and willing to do the gross or mundane sides of the job? are you, like, cool? having those attributes makes you a good candidate, even if you're inexperienced. some of the best hires i've had were total newbies with great attitudes, and some of the worst hires i've had were seasoned techs who think they're hot shit and don't play nice with others. can't overstate how important teamwork is in this field.

if your plan is to eventually become a veterinarian, then this is where my expertise ends. <3 i have never wanted to be a vet, i'm settled in my career, i know nothing about vet school, go with god. <3

#vet tech #veterinary technician #vet med #veterinary medicine #vetblr #m2a #m2answers #i do like my job now but boy howdy did i go through some shit to get here!!! #work stuff

[swimmingcollectionartisanlo-blog]

Authority and Duty, How They're Related and How They Impact Project Managemen

Veteran project managers know that they accept responsibility for the project when they accept the part of project manager. In addition they realize that the lack of authority can seriously impede their capacity to deliver the targets and objectives set for the project. Responsibility is straight proportional to consequences. Duty for project results does not imply that they get placed around the bench till the subsequent project when the a single they're leading fails, it features a monetary consequence. They will suffer using the project by means of elimination or reduction of bonus, a re-assignment to a significantly less responsible function (with an attendant reduction in salary), or dismissal inside the case of consultants. The connection involving duty and consequences is entrenched in enterprise. Alastair Majury Stirling Council will have a tendency to engage more senior project managers as well as the consequence of failure might be proportional. The connection in between project final results and consequences may also be heightened. What exactly is lacking in my knowledge (20 plus years as a programme and project manager) is usually a correspondence among authority and duty. Alastair Majury Project Management can do substantially from the project preparing with out getting access to authority. Project managers will need some help from subject matter authorities for some of the planning function, even though it really is simply to validate work or cost estimates. Bigger, a lot more complicated projects tend to have additional want of subject matter professionals to the point that a number of the work is planned by these specialists. The authority needed to obtain and manage the sources needed for this perform will typically include the territory. It is when the project reaches the construct or implementation phase that the project manager requires authority. They could strategy the operate, organize the operate, and monitor efficiency but devoid of authority they've an extremely limited ability to ensure the operate is performed on time and with all the essential high quality. The biggest, most pricey, most complex projects are led by project managers who hold senior positions in their organizations and bring that degree of authority to their projects. The Manhattan project, which delivered the Atomic bomb through Globe War II, is a very good instance of this type of project and project manager. Leslie Groves, who managed the project, was a 3 star (lieutenant) Basic. The vast majority of projects which do not fall into the Manhattan project category when it comes to size are where the connection amongst authority and responsibility falls apart. Most projects nowadays are executed within a "matrix" environment where the organization uses project managers to run projects and functional managers to handle individuals. The matrix atmosphere is a great match for most organizations simply because they have a mix of operational and project function. The problem with all the matrix environment is that seldom do they include a blueprint for the division of authority involving the functional and project manager which signifies that the project manager has none of your authority plus the functional manager has it all from the resource's perspective. Organizations with more mature matrix environments might have taken some steps to resolve the difficulties that this division causes, but hardly ever do the definitions of your 2 roles consist of a precise description of authority. This can be in all probability also due to the truth that the HR group plays a major function in defining authority by way of their policies and they have a tendency to become behind the curve in accommodating their policies to the management of projects. Difficulties start out using the acquisition in the project group. Project managers are prone towards the exact same greed plus the rest of the human race and would prefer to possess a totally free reign to obtain the most effective sources the organization has to offer. Functional managers, around the other hand, have their operational responsibilities to think about. They will be compensated for the resources they relinquish for the project but are not ordinarily incented to produce confident their very best and brightest are made accessible for the project manager. That is for the reason that their performance is measured determined by the results of their operational responsibilities. If they make their best sources readily available towards the project, they might fail to deliver on their operational objectives and objectives and that might have a negative effect on their compensation. The top method I've observed to balancing operational and project requires would be to have functional managers whose sole duty is the "care and feeding" of sources. Because they do not have any other operational responsibilities, they may be cost-free to assess the competing needs of projects and operations and make assignment choices based on their perception of what's best for the organization. Challenges encountered with group acquisition will propagate throughout the rest in the project. Presuming work and duration estimates had been depending on some level of performance that is definitely greater than a number of the acquired team are capable of meeting, project overall performance will suffer. Pointing out to the project sponsor that efficiency concerns are getting caused by under-performing team members might or might not bring relief. The sponsor is most likely to view your complaint with scepticism if you did not raise the challenge just before. An inability to perform the perform isn't the only lead to of poor functionality. By far the most widespread trigger of inadequate functionality will be the bleeding of resource time in the project by operational demands. The demands may well be pretty genuine and the operational work demanded in the resource may perhaps be the top achievable use of that resource for the fantastic from the organization. That doesn't support the project manager when she or he has to explain poor project functionality for the stakeholders. This scenario is terrible enough when the project manager is offered notice on the demand but is much worse when they study of your adjust immediately after the truth. The level of authority the project manager has been offered, or at the least the functional manager's perception of that authority, will generally establish regardless of whether they find out in regards to the operational work prior to or following the truth. The other side with the resources coin could be the recognition and rewards which might be made use of to develop team morale. A lack of authority in this region usually has to accomplish together with the project manager's capacity to devote money to give awards or purchase any other form of group creating activity. Recognition and rewards are usually governed by HR policy that is the reason the project manager isn't provided authority to bestow these on deserving team members. The lack of any type of spending budget to buy awards may be the other explanation. Lastly, the project manager may well be named upon to cope with team members whose head just isn't in the game. They've the capacity, practical experience, and instruction to perform the operate in the level of competency envisioned within the project plans but never. There could be various motives for this but they usually stem from the resource's commitment for the project, or lack thereof. Let's take a look at the example of a procedure improvement project to illustrate what I mean. The advantage with the course of action improvement may be the elimination of effort which will translate into job loss (at the least in that department). A number of the group members who perform on this project may possibly be the ones whose jobs is going to be eliminated; right after all they are the subject matter experts inside the old course of action. Is it affordable to count on these people to show enthusiasm for the project? Not surprisingly not. Unless the project manager can show these group members how the project will advantage them, or at the least not harm them they're going to be significantly less than committed to the objectives on the project. The lack of enthusiasm may have nothing to accomplish with security; you'll find any number of motives for any lack of commitment from group members: jealousy, the perception that their very best interests are served when the project fails, a commitment to a project they perceive as competing, dissatisfaction that a pal just isn't assigned to the group are just a few of the "political" motives that a team member might not give the project their best work. Resolving any of those concerns will require that the project manager have some degree of authority over the resource. This doesn't necessarily imply they've hiring and firing authority, the capability to influence their compensation may perhaps be adequate. Now that I've made the case for an authority commensurate with the degree of duty, let's have a look at some methods and signifies of acquiring that authority. I'll start off by addressing the folks who sponsor projects. You'll want to hold your project managers responsible for project benefits; that's their job, nevertheless it doesn't make sense to hold them accountable without having providing them the potential to meet the project's objectives and objectives and authority is a key element of that capability. It is possible to aid right here by coming to an agreement along with your project manager over the degree of authority you're providing them. Operating within the policies dictated by your HR group, you should assign them the authority level you each agree they require. Do not speak in generalities, be specific. The project manager must know what their remedies are in the case where they have functionality problems with group members. The procedure employed for figuring out the composition of your project group must also be clearly articulated. How will disagreements more than individual sources be resolved? Certainly to do this inside a way that makes sense for the organization, you are going to have to have to prioritize your project against the other projects and operational operate of the organization. If the project targets and objectives are high priority, the project cannot be a low priority in relation to competing for scarce sources. Their amount of authority more than the group members, once the team has been defined wants to become clearly articulated at the same time. How will the project manager handle a team member whose functionality is sub-standard for the reason that they do not have the needed capabilities or practical experience? How will they deal with the group member who has the needed capabilities and expertise but is not performing for some other reason? The project manager's authority demands to become articulated in enough detail so that these queries are answered. Delegating authority towards the project manager doesn't need to contravene any HR policy. One example is, it might be against policy to permit the project manager to employ or fire sources but where stakeholders, customers and others, contribute to functionality testimonials make sure the project manager is usually a contributor and make sure their assessment is weighted in accordance together with the quantity of time the resource spends around the project and also the project priority. On the other hand occasionally projects are important sufficient and HR policies behind adequate to warrant changing them. Do not be afraid to collect political allies and make the case for modify to HR. You could possibly be prosperous in effecting the modify for the next massive project even if you aren't prosperous creating the adjust for the present a single. The project region that the project manager will will need authority for is recognition and rewards. The project manager really should be in a position to articulate a recognition and rewards programme for the project, or how they may make use of existing recognition and rewards programmes. Make certain they have enough authority to administer the programme. This will likely imply a price range, in most instances. Function out how you are going to make the cash obtainable when needed in circumstances exactly where it really is not possible to provide the project manager any signing authority. Lastly, make oneself out there to take element in awards ceremonies or team building activities. I have not dealt with any sponsors who didn't delight in these occasions when they had been exposed to them. Project managers who have sponsors that have failed to study the above, or who are not comfy taking the initiative with you, will have to have to initiate the conversation themselves. Once you've defined the amount of authority you will need in detail make specific it really is documented. In case your authority is not written down anyplace, you don't have it. People's memories being what they're, the perception that you simply have with the authority you've will differ from your sponsor's and that gap will only widen as time goes on and memories deteriorate. Understand that the authority you're provided isn't plucked from thin air, it truly is authority that your sponsor has (or any other senior stakeholder) that they delegate to you. Your authority needs to be captured inside the Project Charter. The level of detail will need not be any greater than the rest of your charter; you are able to leave that to certain tasks or purposes. It need to be spelled out in generalities such as "the Project Manager has the authority to take part in the choice with the project team", "the Project Manager will evaluate members on the team and these evaluations will be utilized in overall performance reviews", or "the Project Manager has the authority to address functionality issues". Specifics may be left till the project advances to the stage where authority is required. As an example, you'll be able to ask for an e-mail in the sponsor ahead of time of team acquisition specifying how choices will likely be produced on individual team members and how disputes might be handled. Authority is like a muscle: it can atrophy if it isn't employed and will not be obtainable when it truly is most necessary. Your sponsor has offered you authority to ensure that you'll be able to use it to achieve your project's goals and objectives so you'll want to in no way fail to attain them due to a lack of authority unless you have been especially denied it. This suggests that when group members refuse to recognize your authority to direct their function you should use it to impose your will on them. Never confuse the imposition of your path with abuse. You abuse your authority once you use it for purposes aside from the accomplishment on the project's objectives and objectives or any time you show favouritism imposing consequences or rewards. Stay away from abusing your authority at all fees, but not in the price of failing to exercising it. To make sure you keep away from abusing your authority it is a very good notion to have your HR organization's policies and suggestions handy and assure you are familiar with them. Alastair Majury Stirling who initiate the conversation about authority may have the advantage of becoming able to define the level of authority they think they want. This can either be completed by spelling your authority out in the draft version of the Project Charter or in some other document that precedes it. Don't be faint-hearted here. It's greater to have authority that you simply don't require and never use than to fail to possess it and will need it. Never be shy to workout an authority you don't have simply because neither you nor the sponsor foresaw a want for it. Your sponsor is a lot far more most likely to forgive you exercising an authority that leads to the accomplishment of a project objective than they're to forgive you for failing to meet the goal. The majority of what I've said here will apply to project managers who're permanent employees with the organizations they manage projects for, but what about consultants? These people perpetually come across themselves in "matrix" environments mainly because even in organizations which might be projectized or which have a mature, proven matrix arrangement, they do not apply towards the consultant. Consultants need to become particularly diligent in outlining their amount of authority and in making use of it. Their authority will in no way include the capacity to fire or to choose and pick resources when acquiring the team. At most they will possess the authority to employ contractors and take part in acquisition negotiations for personnel so they need to ensure that they've a remedy that should address an insoluble challenge with a group member. Never forget that when you very first arrive around the job you're an unknown quantity towards the stakeholders. They might have had exposure to you once you interviewed for the function but you happen to be nevertheless an unknown quantity. Right after you've been within the function to get a although you must have gained a level of trust that may let you more leeway in exercising authority but until then do not make assumptions that could embarrass your sponsor. Finally, when you fail to have your sponsor delegate the authority to you which you want to succeed, ensure you document that fact. How do you do that without insulting your sponsor? Easy, not having the authority required to achieve project ambitions and objectives is actually a risk to those ambitions and objectives and need to be captured inside the project's threat register. Do not describe these risks in personal terms; describe them in terms of what the danger event appears like plus the likely effect around the project if they happen. A conversation about mitigation techniques to address the threat may perhaps bring about granting you the authority. At the least they should really result in a mitigation tactic that may cut down the degree of risk. If all else fails and there is no granting of authority or identification of acceptable mitigation strategies, the project need to accept the risk. You still have the selection of reviewing this threat and its acceptance whenever the risk register is reviewed with all the stakeholders. A word of caution right here: the threat identifies a disagreement among you and your sponsor; never use this as an chance to embarrass your sponsor in front of their peers or managers. A single final word of tips for all project managers: it is usually easier to ask for forgiveness than permission. When in doubt assume the authority and physical exercise it. If you have overstepped your bounds but achieved your objective your sponsor may point the mistake out to you, but will not be as unhappy together with the outcome as they could be if you failed to physical exercise the authority and failed to attain the objective.

[crystalelemental]

Unit Teambuilding - Eevee Elio & Selene

Oh I get it. Because Sun and Moon, Day and Night. Clever.

General Overview If you're familiar with last year's Eevee Day Variety Scouts, you're familiar with the structure of these alts. If you're not, the short is that all these Eevee Day pairs operate on the same general structures: field effect is set every sync, grants a team-wide benefit under that field effect, natural debuff in the kit with another debuff at 3/5, surprisingly strong sync damage, 2-bar status move of some variety, trainer move buffs two stats with one of them being shared with the whole team.

Elio and Espeon's iteration is Psychic Terrain, Status/Interference Immunity, -2 Sp Def naturally and -2 Atk on grid, Morning Sun, and shared crit with personal Sp Atk. Elio notably also has Aggravation 9 for sure-Confuse on Confusion, and Stop Hitting Yourself 5.

Selene and Umbreon's iteration is Dark Zone, Crit Immunity, -2 Def naturally and -2 Sp Atk on grid, Moonlight, and shared Sp Def with personal Atk. Selene also notably has Aggravation 1 on Bite for a 60% flinch rate.

These two differ from previous pairs in a few ways. First, note the -2 debuff rather than -1. That's because they only have single-target attacks. It's not great. They also focus on recovery, rather than application of a status condition or third debuff, which is...questionable but fine. They retain the central issue of "field effect does not last through to the next sync without ramping," so have fun dealing with that.

EX, Role, and Move Level? The EX is not strictly necessary, depending on how you use them. Having had the old Eevee Day pairs at 1/5-2/5 for a year, I can safely say their DPS and supportive effects are fairly sufficient, so move level is variable, though I tend to recommend at least 2/5 for some added benefits like MPR on trainer move. Their Role is Support. Their stats are not really high enough to make good use of that outside of Gauntlet, and I think like most Techs with only one damage type, Strike would be preferred, but this is what we get.

Teambuilding I'm opting against specific teams, because like all the Eevee iterations, these two are locked to on-type, which limits the variety of teams you can really aim for. Their debuffs do make them more versatile than last year's pairs, given that defensive debuffs are always valuable, but we'll talk a bit specifically.

Elio Elio's the newest top Psychic sync damage dealer, eclipsing Anni May by like 25% of her sync damage.  His DPS is fairly standard, but the -2 Sp Def aligns beautifully to the type, where everyone but Tate is specially focused. Sharing crit rate is also excellent for SS Lusamine, who wants to fast-ramp but needs +1 crit somewhere to make it work. Debuffing Atk as his secondary also aligns really nicely to Lucian, but using him at 3/5 to support Lucian at 3/5 is just clownshoes.

The bad news is, Elio's specifics make him a poor support for the type.  His trainer move's +1 crit being shared is the wrong trait, given that few psychics lack for crit, but several need the Sp Atk, including general options like Giovanni and Caitlin.  Sp Def debuffing is accomplished by Lucian, who is general pool and also gives speed buffs.  Many Psychic types are sync nukers, and don't want to give up their selling point to him just for Terrain.  Especially with Bianca right there in the general pool to provide it as needed, including on someone's sync.  Elio partners best with DPS pairs, but unlike Lucas and Lyra, there aren't many Psychic types that thrive on DPS.  They're mostly sync oriented.  And that's before the high count of transformations, like Giovanni and SS Lusamine, who demand sync. Elio functions more as another damage dealer, and to be honest, he doesn't impress me too much.

I'll also mention that, if you're really ambitious, Elio does have a Support Role.  His bulk isn't exactly impressive even with it, but the presence of Aggravation 9 Confusion and Stop Hitting Yourself does mean he can align with Will, who has the same disruption and the ability to hit with high DPS through Stored Power. Or you can go for a recovery tank, picking up +1 to both defenses on TM, debuffing Atk of the opponent per hit, and Safety Tether. It's not the worst approach for Gauntlet, but is likely too slow acting for CS or High Score.  I wish they had given it better bulk, because man, this could've been significant.

Selene In contrast, Selene's damage is fairly standard among the newest Dark types, and she has a lot more modern competition.  Physical Dark also consists of Akari, who does the Zone thing better and has way better DPS, and SC Zinnia, who has hilarious utility and a bonkers sync.

Selene's stat boost is Sp Def, which is only specifically relevant to NC Calem, whose Master Passive fixes physical bulk but not special.  The Dark Zone application on sync is nice, but very similar to Elio, many Dark types are sync nukers.  Sidney, Masked Royal, Nanu, even options like SC Zinnia; they all prefer taking sync, and only a few have great DPS. I think her biggest win is really her compressing Nanu's roles. Bite is a -2 Def move with 60% flinch rate, that's really good. Staggering 2 Marshal with Rock Smash is pretty good in Gauntlet, and this is doubling his every effect. That said, 3/5 for a flinch bot with some good defense debuffing isn't exactly what I'd want from premium.

Much like Elio, there's also a tank build. Selene has Support Role, and some survival traits in Safety Tether and debuffing Sp Atk per hit. the problem is that Aggravation is still her best trait, which makes it really hard to pick up Safety Tether without giving up better tools. Still, the ability to deny moves entirely feels a lot more valuable as a support pair. Lodge Blue does it. She just won't provide much offensive buffing support, which is something physical Dark tends to need pretty badly. So I'm not as convinced the tank role is her best option.

Final Thoughts Both Elio and Selene struggle to find any real foothold within their type as a supportive option. They stand out more as damage, which is an odd approach. They definitely work, but Psychic and Dark weren't truly hurting for damage. I do think Elio makes out a little better here. Optimal Psychic play involves a lot of AoE no penalty stuff that doesn't do so well single-target, and Elio's got plenty of fire-power on single-target damage, so he's quite nice to add, especially given the +1 crit for SS Lusamine to ease her rotations, or immediately topping off crit for NC Bede without taking Team Sharp Entry. Selene feels a little less impactful for her type, since Dark is pretty solved for at present, but has nice generalist tools thanks to Bite's 60% flinch and -2 Def effect. Neither is exceptional, but neither is dead weight.

Their problem is...they're Kris. Lucas and Lyra did well for themselves because they attached to the dominant support in their type and playstyle. Lucas perfectly complemented SS Morty for Sun, and has only really been dethroned with NC Leaf. Lyra perfectly complemented SS Kris for Rain, giving the speed she needed and debuffing Sp Def, and was only dethroned by NC Serena. Elio and Selene don't have that. There's still no Psychic Terrain support (Caitlin/Gothitelle when?), and Selene doesn't offer much to NC Calem given her sad lack of AoE. So they're more like Kris than Lucas or Lyra, and I do think that's ultimately to their detriment. The debuffs are good utility in a general sense, but being only single-target, you'd really need to ask yourself if the idea of a debuff bot is sufficient justification to pull something like this.

#unit teambuilding #eevee elio #eevee selene